Lloyd Reckord (26 May 1929 – 8 July 2015) was a

Jamaica Jamaica (; ) is an island country situated in the Caribbean Sea. Spanning in area, it is the third-largest island of the Greater Antilles and the Caribbean (after Cuba and Hispaniola). Jamaica lies about south of Cuba, and west of His ...

n actor, film maker, and stage director who lived in

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

for some years. Reckord appeared in 1958 in a West End production of '' Hot Summer Night'', which as an ITV adaptation broadcast on 1 February 1959 contained the earliest known example of an interracial kiss on television.Amanda Bidnall, ''The West Indian Generation: Remaking British Culture in London, 1945-1965'': "The first on-stage interracial kiss came in 1958 with the performance of Ted Willis's ''Hot Summer Night'', and one year later that same kiss came to the small screen with the play's adaptation for ITV's ''Armchair Theatre''." His brother was the dramatist

Barry Reckord Barrington John Reckord (19 November 1926 – 20 December 2011), known as Barry Reckord, was a Jamaican playwright, one of the earliest Caribbean writers to make a contribution to theatre in Britain. His brother was the actor and director Lloyd ...

Biography

Lloyd Malcolm Reckord was born in Kingston, Jamaica, on 26 May 1929. He began his theatrical career with the Little Theatre Movement (LTM) pantomime at Ward Theatre. As reported by Michael Reckord in the '' Jamaica Gleaner'', "Reckord's first big role was as Tobias in a production of ''Tobias and the Angel'' at the Garrison Theatre,

Up-Park Camp Up-Park Camp (often Up Park Camp) was the headquarters of the British Army in Jamaica from the late 18th century to independence in 1962. From that date, it has been the headquarters of the Jamaica Defence Force. It is located in the heart ...

, when he was in his late teens. Fired from his job at his uncle's hardware store because he insisted that he had to leave early to play his role in the LTM pantomime, ''Alice in Wonderland'', Lloyd left Jamaica in 1951 when he was 21 to join his brother

Barry Barry may refer to: People and fictional characters * Barry (name), including lists of people with the given name, nickname or surname, as well as fictional characters with the given name * Dancing Barry, stage name of Barry Richards (born c. 19 ...

, also a playwright and actor, in England." He auditioned and was accepted as a student at the Bristol Old Vic Theatre School, subsequently joining the

Old Vic Company The Old Vic is a 1,000-seat, nonprofit organization, not-for-profit producing house, producing theatre in Waterloo, London, Waterloo, London, England. Established in 1818 as the Royal Coburg Theatre, and renamed in 1833 the Royal Victoria Th ...

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

. He would also study theatre in the US, years later, at

Howard University Howard University (Howard) is a Private university, private, University charter#Federal, federally chartered historically black research university in Washington, D.C. It is Carnegie Classification of Institutions of Higher Education, classifie ...

Yale University Yale University is a Private university, private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. Established in 1701 as the Collegiate School, it is the List of Colonial Colleges, third-oldest institution of higher education in the United Sta ...

and the

American Theatre Wing The American Theatre Wing (the Wing for short) is a New York City–based non-profit organization "dedicated to supporting excellence and education in theatre", according to its mission statement. Originally known as the Stage Women's War Relief ...

. Reckord appeared in the

Ted Willis Edward Henry Willis, Baron Willis (13 January 1914 – 22 December 1992) was an English playwright, novelist and screenwriter who was also politically active in support of the Labour Party. In 1941 he became the General Secretary of the Young ...

play '' Hot Summer Night'' at the New Theatre, St Martin's Lane,

, in 1958, with

Andrée Melly Andrée Melly (15 September 1932 – 31 January 2020) was an English actress. Career Born in Liverpool, Lancashire, she performed at the Old Vic in ''Romeo and Juliet'', ''The Merchant of Venice'' and T.S. Eliot’s '' Murder in the Cathedral ...

as his white girlfriend; a later ''

Armchair Theatre ''Armchair Theatre'' is a British television drama anthology series of single plays that ran on the ITV network from 1956 to 1974. It was originally produced by ABC Weekend TV. Its successor Thames Television took over from mid-1968. The Canad ...

'' adaptation the following year concentrated on the couple's relationship. The ITV

adaptation of this play, broadcast on 1 February 1959, is currently the earliest known example of an interracial kiss on television, and three years later he participated in another early televised interracial kiss in '' You in Your Small Corner'', a Granada ''Play of the Week'' broadcast in June 1962,"You in Your Small Corner (5 Jun. 1962)"
IMDb. in which he kissed actor

Elizabeth MacLennan Elizabeth Margaret Ross MacLennan (16 March 1938 – 23 June 2015) was a Scottish actress, writer and radical popular theatre practitioner. Early life Elizabeth MacLennan was born in Glasgow, Scotland, daughter of Sir Hector MacLennan and Is ...

. This claim had earlier been made for ''

Emergency – Ward 10 ''Emergency Ward 10'' is a British medical soap opera series shown on ITV between 1957 and 1967. Like ''The Grove Family'', a series shown by the BBC between 1954 and 1957, ''Emergency Ward 10'' is considered to be one of British television's ...

'', which postdates Reckord's earlier kisses. The play was written by Reckord's brother Barry, and directed by

Claude Whatham Claude Whatham (7 December 1927 in Manchester – 4 January 2008 in Anglesey) was an English film and TV director mainly known for his work on dramas. Early life In 1940, Whatham, a teenage evacuee art student, had been commissioned to paint f ...

. Reckord also acted in several television series, including four episodes of ''

Danger Man ''Danger Man'' (retitled ''Secret Agent'' in the United States for the revived series, and ''Destination Danger'' and ''John Drake'' in other overseas markets) is a British television series that was broadcast between 1960 and 1962, and again b ...

'' (1960–61, 1964–65),Inge Blackman
"Reckord, Lloyd (1929-)"
BFI screenonline. and '' The Human Jungle'' ("Enemy Outside", 1964), but feeling typecast as an actor, he wanted to move into direction. With only limited funds, including a grant from the

BFI The British Film Institute (BFI) is a film and television charitable organisation which promotes and preserves film-making and television in the United Kingdom. The BFI uses funds provided by the National Lottery (United Kingdom), National Lot ...

, he made two non-commercial film shorts ''Ten Bob in Winter'' (1963, featuring Winston Stona, Bari Johnson, Peter Madden and Andrew Salkey, with a jazz soundtrack by

Joe Harriott Joseph Arthurlin Harriott (15 July 1928 – 2 January 1973) was a Jamaican jazz musician and composer, whose principal instrument was the alto saxophone. Initially a bebopper, he became a pioneer of free-form jazz. Born in Kingston, Harriott ...

)"Jamaica Film-Maker Works On London Project"
''The Gleaner'', 22 May 2011. and ''Dream A40'' (1965). Reckord later returned to Jamaica, where he worked as a stage director, with rare screen appearances, as in ''The Lunatic'' (1991) and '' Third World Cop'' (1999). In 2011 his work featured in the Black London's Film Heritage Project, with the compilation ''Big City Stories'' including Reckord's 1963 film ''Ten Bob in Winter'', as well an excerpt from the television play by his brother entitled ''You in Your Small Corner'', in which Lloyd Reckord played the lead male character. His short film ''Dream A40'' was shown at the

London Lesbian and Gay Film Festival BFI Flare: London LGBTIQ+ Film Festival, formerly known as the London Lesbian and Gay Film Festival (LLGFF), is the biggest LGBTIQ+ film festival in Europe. It takes place every spring in London, England. It began in 1986, as a season of gay and ...

(LLGFF) at the British Film Institute. Reckord died in Jamaica on 8 July 2015 after a short illness, aged 86,Michael Reckord
"Theatre Veteran Lloyd Reckord Passes"
''Jamaica Gleaner'', 11 July 2015. Retrieved 19 July 2015. and his life was celebrated at a thanksgiving service on 29 July.Richard Johnson
"Lloyd Reckord gave his life to film and theatre"
''Jamaica Observer'', 23 August 2015.

Filmography

References

External links

"Theatre Veteran Lloyd Reckord Passes"
''Jamaica Gleaner'', 11 July 2015. *
Lloyd Reckord discusses his career on the occasion of a rare screening of ''Dream A40''
video at BFI Live, 12 April 2012.
"Lloyd Reckord"
Aveleyman.
Lloyd Reckord Filmography
BFI {{DEFAULTSORT:Reckord, Lloyd 1929 births Jamaican male stage actors 2015 deaths Jamaican male television actors Jamaican expatriates in the United Kingdom Jamaican theatre directors Jamaican film directors People from Kingston, Jamaica 20th-century Jamaican male actors Black British cinema